Latch



0a. 14, 1941. M HOGG 2,259,136

I LA TGH Filed March 1, 1940 p581 Fig.2.

Inventor: Francis M. H028,

Hi Attor neg.

Patented Oct. 14, 1941 LATCH Francis M. llogg, Erie, Pl, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application March 1, 1940, Serial No. 321,703

Claims.

My invention relates to latches and more particularly to latches for refrigerator cabinets or the like.

It is an object of my invention to provid an improved latch which is rugged in construction,

comprises a minimum number of parts, and which is readily assembled and economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a refrigerator door provided with a latch embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the latch shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the latch shown in Fig. 1 taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

I have provided a latch comprising a casing Ill having a slidable. latch member or bolt ll within the casing and a pair of toggle members l2 and I3, respectively. The toggle members l2 and I3 and latching member II are arranged in substantially longitudinal alignment in the latching position, preferably slightly over-center; and biased to the latching position as by a spring M. The toggle members I2 and I3 are pivotally connected togetherat one end thereof by a pin I5, one end of the pin [5 extending through an opening l6 in one wall of the casing III. A lever I1 is arranged for engagement with the roller He supported on the extending portion of the pin [5. The lever I1 is pivotally supported in a yoke I8 suitably secured to the inner surface of the outer casing or panel 19 of the door 2!]. A reciprocable pin 2| suitably disposed in yoke 18 extends through a suitable opening in the outer casing IS. A handle 22 is suitably secured to the outside of the door 20. When it is desired to open the door 20, the handle 22 is rotated about its pivot 23, this action causing the pin 2| to be moved inwardly for pivoting the lever l1 about the pin 24, this pivotal movement being transmitted to the roller l5a causing the common ends of the toggle members l2 and i3 to be moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, out of -longitudinal alignment, thus breaking the toggle and withdrawing the latching member II from engagement with the keeper or strike Ila. Describing the illustrated latch in greater detail, I have shown a portion of a household type refrigerator cabinet of the type having an opening in the front wall thereof closed by a door 20. The wall 25 of the refrigerator cabinet comprises a sheet metal outer casing or shell 26 and a sheet metal inner liner '2! spaced therefrom. Suitable thermal insulating material (not shown) is disposed between the liners 26 and 21. The marginal edges of the liners 26 and 21 are flanged adjacent the opening in the front wall of the refrigerator cabinet 25 and the space therebetween is closed by a breaker strip of thermally resistant material 28. The front wall of the outer casing 26 extending about the margin of the opening in the refrigerator cabinet 25 constitutes a door frame to which the door 20 is suitably hinged.

The door 20 comprises a sheet metal outer wall or panel l9 and a sheet metal inner wall or panel 26 spaced therefrom, the space therebetween being filled with a suitable thermal insulating material (not shown). The marginal edges of the outer and inner walls It! and 29 ar flanged toward each other, the space therebetween being closed by a'breaker strip '30 of thermally resistant material. As shown in Fig. 3, the door 20 extends over a portion of the side wall 25 of the refrigerator cabinet. A gasket 3| is secured to the marginal flange of the outer casing 26 and provides a seal between the outer casing 26 and the marginal flange 36 of the outer casing IQ of the door 20. A latch comprising cooperating parts carried by the door 20 and a keeper or strike Ila, carried by the wall 25 of the refrigerator cabinet is provided in order to retain the door in a closed position.

The vertically disposed latch comprises a support in the form of an elongated casing i0, substantially U-shaped in cross section, and having a rear wall 33 and side walls 34. In order to secure the casing Hi to the flanged portion 36 of the outer wall I9, I have provided a suitable bracket 35 suitably secured to the flange 36, as by welding, for example, and to the rear wall 33 of the casing Ill as by means of screws 31 extending through suitable openings in the bracket 35 and engaging suitable threaded openings in the rear wall 33.

A latching bolt II is slidably or reciprocably arranged in the casing in and is adapted for movement in a vertical direction to and from the latching position. The upper end of the latching member or bolt II is pivotally secured to arms or links 36 of toggle member i 2 by means of a pin 39 extending through a suitable opening 39a in thebolt II, the opening extending laterally through the bolt. A second toggle member l3 substantially U-shaped in cross section is pivotally connected at one end thereof to the upper end of the links 38 by means of a pin ll extending through the links 38 and the arms 40 of the toggle member IS. The toggle member I! is slidably and pivotally connected at the upper end thereof to thecasing It by means of a pin 4| extending through the. arms 40 of the toggle member I3 into corresponding longitudinally extending slots 42 arranged in oppositely disposed side walls 34 of the casing III, the pin 4| extending beyond the arms 49 of the toggle member into the slots 42.

In the latching position of the above-described parts, the toggle members l2 and I3; and thebolt II are disposed in substantially longitudinal alignment. However, in order to insure maintenance of the parts in the latching position, a slightly over-center alignment is preferable. In this position, the bolt II will engage a suitable strike or keeper ||a extending through an opening 43 in the rear wall of the casing. The aforementioned parts will be biased to the keeper engaging posit bn by means of a spring I4. In order to ma tain the spring in position, I have provided th rear wall of the casing with a bentover portion or flange 45 to form a support for one end of the spring, the side walls of the casing being bent over as indicated by the numeral 46 to reinforce the spring support flange 45. The other end of the spring I4 is retained in position by means of a guide 44. This guide is provided with a pair of spaced-apart bifurcated legs 41 for engagement with the pin 4| and a longitudinally extending shank 48. The spring I4 is relatively heavy in order to provide sufficient force to maintain the bolt I in firm engagement with the door and placed in such a manner as to constitute a guide for sliding bolt The arm 49 is cut away, as indicated by the numeral 50, to provide spaces for outward movement of the arms 38 of the toggle member I2 during the operation of the latching mechanism." The yoke 18 is generally U- shaped. The lever I1 is pivotally supported between the arms 5| of the yoke I! by means of a pin 24. As best seen in Fig. 3, the lever I1 is roughly U-shaped in cross section, a slot 52 being provided in one side wall ofthe lever to receive the roller I511. The yoke I8 is connected to the outer panel l9 of the door 20 by any suitable means. In the drawing I have illustrated a sleeve 53 which serves not only as a securing means but also as a bushing for the pin 2|. Sleeve 53 may 'be secured in any desired fashion as by welding or threaded means.

In order to operate the latching mechanism I have provided a suitable operating member 22,

- such as a door handle, pivotally arranged on the outside of the door 20 as by means of a pin 23 extending through the portion 54 of the handle 22. The portion 54 is provided with a shoulder or abutment 55 for engagement with the outer end of the pin 2|. The other end of the pin 2| is arranged for engagement with the lever H, the collar 55 being provided intermediate the ends of pirli 2| to prevent complete withdrawal of the pin 2 In order to normally bias the lever H to the latching position of the apparatus I have provided a coiled spring 51 supported by the pin 24. one arm thereof bearing against the web of the lever l1 and the other end thereof against an arm 58 extending from the yoke l8. This spring is relatively light in order to permit easy opening vof the latch mechanism. The spring need only be strong enough to return the roller |5a and pin i5 and the toggle members l2 and I3 into their vertically aligned positions, to press the pin 2| outwardly, and to prevent breaking of the toggle except when the door handle 22 is operated.

In order to open the door 20, the handle 22 is moved in a clockwise direction about the pin 23, as viewed in Fig. 3. This movement of the member 22 causes the pin 2| to be moved inwardly against the web of the lever |1 thereby causing the lever H to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Fig.2 about the pivot pin 24. Movement of the upper end of the lever I1 toward the left in Fig. 2 causes the web 59 of the lever I1 to engage the roller |5a in order to break the toggle by moving the common ends of toggle members l2 and I3 laterally of the normal longitudinal axis of the members and; bolt H. The relatively stiff spring I4 forces the pin 4| against the lower edges of slots 42 and the bolt member is drawn upwardly. The door 29 may then be moved to an open position. Movement of the lever |1 also compresses the spring 51 interposed between the arm 58 of the yoke l8 and the web 59 of the lever l1. When the handle 22 is released the spring 51 moves the lever l1 in a clockwise direction about the pin 24, as viewed'in Fig. '2, whereby the arm 59a of the lever |1 engages the roller |5a and causes the toggle member 3 to be moved in a counter-clockwise direction about the pin 4| and causes the toggle member |2 to move in a downwardly and in a generally clockwise direction about pin 39 in order to slide the bolt l| downwardly. At the same time, the movement of the lever l1 pushes the pin 2| outwardly thereby resetting-the latch mechanism for the next opening operation.

As the door 2|) is moved toward a closed position, an inclined surface 32 provided on the latch bolt engages an inclined surface 69 provided on the head SI of the keeper or strike a and forces the bolt vertically upward against the .keeper or strike by the compression spring |4. Thus, the provision of slots 42 of sufficient length permits the toggle members l2 and I3 and the latch bolt II, when they are in their latching positions, to be biased into firm contact with the strike in order to maintain the door in a tightly closed position. In the closed position, pin 4| will be positioned intermediate the ends of slots 42, permitting the full effect of the compression of spring l4 to be utilized in biasing bolt I Due to the above-described arrangement of parts, movement of the latching member into its extended or latching position by the spring I4 is independent of the handle 22 so that movements of the bolt caused by closing the door are not transzmitted to the door opening member or handle 2 While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A latch comprising a casing, a slidable latching member disposed within said casing, a pair of toggle members disposed within said casing, one of said toggle members being attached at one end thereof to said latching member, the other of said toggle members being pivotally and slidably supported at one end thereof in said casing, the other ends of said toggle members being joined to each other by means of a pin, said pin having a portion extending beyond said casing, said toggle members and said latching member being so arranged and constructed as to be in substantially longitudinal alignment in the latching position of said latching member and a lever associated with said casing and engaging said portion for moving said pin connected ends of said toggle members out of said alignment for withdrawing said latching member from its latching position.

2. A latch comprising a casing, a slidable latching member arranged within the casing, a toggle mechanism including a pair of toggle members arranged within said casing, one of said togglemembers being associated with said latching member, the other of said toggle members being pivotally secured to a pivot element, said casing having corresponding longitudinally extending slots in oppositely disposed walls thereof, said pivot element extending into said slots, a spring arranged in said casing and having engagement with said pivot element for biasing said members toward the latching position when said members are iii-substantially longitudinal alignment and permitting retraction of said latching member without moving said toggle members out of said alignment.

3. In a latch mechanism, a casing, a slidable latching member disposed adjacent one end of said casing, a toggle mechanism including a pair 01' toggle members in said casing, one of said toggle members including a pair of links pivotally associated with said latching member on either side thereof, the other of said toggle members including a pair of arms pivotally associated with said links, pivotal and slidable means extending through said arms for supporting said other of said toggle members in said casing, and means acting between the other end of said casing and said last-mentioned means for biasing said members toward the latching position.

4. In a latch mechanism, a casing comprising spaced apart sides, a latching member slidable between the sides of said casing, said slidable ,member having a lateral opening extending therethrough, a toggle mechanism including a pair of toggle members in said casing, one of said toggle members including a pair of links, means extending through said opening for pivotally attaching said links to said latching member on either side thereof, the other of said toggle members being substantially U-shaped in cross-section, the arms of said other of said toggle members being pivotally attached to the other ends of said links, pivotal and slidable means extending through the other ends of said other of said toggle members for supporting said other of said toggle members in said casing, and means acting on said last-mentioned means for biasing said members toward the latching position.

5. A latch comprising a casing, a slidable latching member disposed within said casing, a pair of toggle members disposed within said casing, one of said toggle members being attached at one end thereof to said latching member, the other of said toggle members being pivotally and slidably supported at one end thereof in said casing,

means for pivotally joining together the other ends of said toggle members, said means having a portion extending beyond said casing, said toggle members in said latching member being so arranged and constructed as to be in substantially longitudinal alignment in the latching position of said latching member, and a member associated with said casing and engaging said porlatching member from its latching position.

FRANCIS M. HOGG. 

